FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY HELPS RESEARCHERS TRANSFORM THEIR WORK INTO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Four innovative research projects have been awarded a total of $106,000 by the Florida State University Research Foundation to help move their discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Ranging from non-addictive drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to new fuel cells, the latest round of awards from Florida State’s biannual, $250,000 Grant Assistance Program (GAP) are intended to help each project reach new milestones on their march to real-world implementation. The winners of the GAP awards are researchers or teams of researchers who can most clearly identify the commercial viability of a product, process or license that will come from their efforts.

“As a major research university, we are always looking for ways to support our faculty in bringing their research to the marketplace where it can directly impact people and the economy,” said Vice President for Research Gary K. Ostrander. “Our GAP competition is one of the support mechanisms we use to do this, and it has proven to be a great kick-starter for the commercialization of many promising research projects taking place on our campuses.”

The research projects that received funding for the fall 2012 GAP competition are focused on:

Creating a non-addictive drug to treat ADHD — $12,000: Professor Pradeep Bhide, the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of Developmental Neuroscience and director of the Center for Brain Repair in the College of Medicine, is working to produce a new drug for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that does not have the addictive properties found in current treatment options such as Ritalin when it is used in excess.

Engineering better ways to produce stem cells — $26,000: Teng Ma, a professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, is developing a cost-effective and scalable way to produce large batches of a promising group of stem cells being used in areas such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease research.

Producing new antibodies for disease research — $18,000: Professor Myra Hurt, senior associate dean for research and graduate programs at the College of Medicine, and Research Associate Raed Rizkallah are developing a way to grow a never-ending supply of an important antibody used in many different forms of disease research.

Building the fuel cell of the future — $50,000: Jim Zheng, a professor of electrical engineering at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, is building the next generation of supercapacitor fuel cell technology that can deliver the bursts of increased energy needed for specific applications as well as be able to recharge and recycle in a very short amount of time.

Funded since 2005, the highly competitive GAP is administrated by Florida State University’s Office of Intellectual Property Development and Commercialization (OIPDC). All GAP submissions are reviewed and selected by a committee of local business leaders. Winners report back to the committee six months after receipt of the award to provide an update of their activity. Staff members from the OIPDC and GAP committee provide ongoing support to GAP participants through the pursuit of potential corporate partners, mentors and additional funding opportunities.

For more information about GAP, visit www.research.fsu.edu/foundation/gap.

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